Abby Wilson works full-time as a heavy-machine operator at a mine in NSW’s Upper Hunter Valley and owns a thriving fashion label.
“After school I went straight into mining but I’ve always been a creative person so I studied fashion on the side. Two years ago, I was recovering from knee surgery – for an old motocross injury – and staying with my parents. I was super bored but it presented an opportunity for me to start designing so I bought a Cricut machine and started printing T-shirts. Mum said, ‘This could be something! Get a plan together.’
I used those six months away from my job to work on my label, Dust & Bullets Western, and began outsourcing the production of T-shirts, hats and footy shorts. I turned a bad situation into something positive.
While I am social media savvy, I struggled with the admin so last year I joined The Entourage, a business mentor community. I was assigned a coach and had access to seminars and templates – everything you need to learn to grow a little brand like Dust & Bullets Western into a big business.
Our orders are now into the thousands. Four retailers stock our products and my goal is to be in 10 shops by the end of 2023. I employ casual staff in seasonal pop-up shops and plan to get help with packing and stocktake once I have a warehouse. I’m still running the business out of my home!